time was running out. he supposed he can do one last dive for his poochyena, who now has two clamperls to play with. he's not sure if he really needs more than one, but he supposed he can keep them for now.

kyle goes back to the water. one last dip before he gets back to work, he tells himself. he's certain they'll forgive him if he just tells them he's doing the community a service by participating in events like these.

the child feels like it's drowning.

like a surfer with a failed attempt at a magikarp splash trick on top of a mantine, her psyche drops to the bottom of the void. metaphorical bubbles float up as she feels herself slowly drown in a sea of sorrows.

her life flashes before her as she suffocates from the immense feeling of dread- her family dying from an unrelated event to those that happened on hoenn, her honor tarnished and her pride spat on by those above her, and basically her entire life crumbling that led her to this very moment.

this is her lowest. failing at something related to magikarp would end her only chance of redemption in life.

"see? you still got the prize," kyle tells the girl. "no need to cry in your own puddle."

in the end, it doesn't even matter. whether she won or lose was a worthless endeavor that only served to destroy any thread of sanity she has left. there's only void left in her empty heart as she reaches for the prize left for her by the councilman.

she thinks to herself that maybe she really did deserve to lose herself to sorrow.

he holds his head up briefly for a moment and lunges for noah's lips once again.

the one thing that will make this summer performance the best for his favorite person in the world was the same stunt he tried to pull off earlier, but got one up'd. he holds it close and long, implanting the memory deep in their heads.

once he lets go, his fingers brushes noah's hair backwards. "love you too."

it wasn't a surprise this time, but he did plan it.

kyle goes back to noah's shoulder, hand on his thigh and his eyes on the sky. while his head wants to work on things that will make the night that noah wants to spend the best, he's too enamored by the fleeting moment to let go of it just yet.

the container of noodles was finished as soon as noah takes the picture, leaving kyle licking his lips the moment the camera records the moment.

"do you want to do something else?" he asks.

he leans his head over noah's shoulder after returning their trash to the bag he brought them with. the smell of greasy food clung to noah's shirt, although it somehow brought nostalgia to him in a way.

"give me, like, five minutes. fingers weave themselves with noah, gripping his hand as he takes in the loud noises of the beach. "we got the best seat in the house." courtesy of noah. "we can't just waste them."

he kicks his feet in the air as the fireworks show proceeds.

kyle has his mouthful of food when noah offers, shoving it all in to satisfy the rumble in his stomach. unable to chew in time, he nods his head and scoots over to noah.

he locks his arms with noah was his husband prepares the photo, all while both of his hands were holding his food. he would grab the balloon mightyena if he could, but his hands were busy.

behind them, the fireworks start getting louder as the bigger ones get launched to the sky. he doesn't notice most of their designs however, since he's more concentrated with getting a good commemorative picture with one of hoenn's gym leaders.

kyle did want to meet a local hero today as well.

with a smile that makes his cheeks ache, he takes in the mouthful of noodles from noah's chopsticks.

he chews first before taking his own food. "alright, you go eat that," kyle tells as he points to noah's own serving with the unbroken chopsticks of his own. "i can't eat all of that when i bought it for you."

his head turns to the ground as the crowds form by the beachfront. this was part of the carnival still, and the performance has its fair share of spectators, including them.

"do you want to stay over the apartment tonight?" kyle offers as he finally opens his portion. "you seem really excited about it after all."

kyle takes a bite of yakisoba.

kyle was actually hungry, but he won't say no to this.

a hand grips noah's shoulder as he returns the kiss. he closes his eyes as he takes in the moment, biting noah's lip as he tries to take over the action. as the gym leader leans forward, the champion pushes back.

his heart races as soon as the moment ends.

"i wanted to do that!" he whines again. "but i was waiting for the fireworks to start. i thought i can stall with food."

he looks at the container of noodles, and then back to noah. "i want more though."

has he been working hard?

the realization that he's coping too hard on several changes on his behavior is lost more often than not. he wasn't the type to monitor his activity, but he was the type to bring it up every time to depreciate himself.

weariness sets in as he tries to shrug it off. he wants to live in the moment, with noah offering him food.

"feed me please. i want to get taken care of, thank you very much."

as he takes one big mouthful of the noodles, the corner of his eye spot movement from below. the slateport beach starts to get busy as the preparation of the final event comes.

he ignores it again as soon as he finishes his food, opening his mouth a second time for the next bite.

"you walk them so i'm sure they tolerate you."

he takes noah's hand and pulls it closer before he raises his arm to tug the rest of noah to him.

"yeah get closer to me," he confidently orders noah, "and take this."

from the paper bag comes two plastic containers of yakisoba. he gives one to noah, along with a pair of chopsticks, and the other stays on his side of the catwalk.

"this is the last thing i got from there, i promise." he's been giving him trinkets that could be considered trash after all. "i didn't get to snack at all during the entire event, so we're having our private dinner here instead."

besides, the fireworks show was about to start, and just like any movie, food was a nice bonus for every show.

"i want your face in my boxers," he nonchalantly responds before his smile softens to one of fondness. "i still want your merch though."

part of him thinks he got his lines backwards, but shouldn't matter in the end.

his hand gets shoved to his pocket as he takes out a deflated balloon. with no pump around, there's only one way for him to actually show it to him. he hands it over to noah, so he can practice blowing.

"i like the print so i took one of them." he offers no other description since noah's going to know what was printed once it's all blown up. "we can have this for a birthday party or something when we visit your family again."

on it was just a cartoon mightyena. it showed no sign of it being special or commemorative outside of a studded collar and a crooked crown that it wore.

"depends on the person, i guess. you would like it, i bet."

he had the charm. there was a reason why the gym was the first place new challengers flock to. with such a kissable face as the front of the establishment, who could blame them.

"oh, yeah. i got this for you." kyle turns around to take a keychain from the bag. it's an acrylic of a caricature of him and a mightyena. "they had me give these away for the event. you can have one since you missed the meet-and-greet, hehe."

his die-hard fan is now his husband. it's a scandal for most celebrities, but it shouldn't be a case for him if it only happened once.

kyle continues hanging his weight against the railing, tilting his head to the side as he turns to noah.

"i have more if you want."

"oh no."

losing was the least of kyle's worries. what bothers him more is the child standing on its own puddle of urine.

part of its tantrum involves lying on the ground, which is now wet with yellow liquid. her clothes get drenched as she proceeds to flop on the ground like a magikarp.

just like one particular gif that kyle found on the internet.

"it's the magikarp splash," he points out. the next second involves kyle realizing the reality. "er, do you want to get your prize now, fern?"

kyle would rather not stay if he can.